A Preview of the Saboten Con 2016 Guest Lineup

Time is flying by because it doesn’t feel like a year ago that I was at Saboten Con, the largest anime convention in Arizona. It was no surprise that I felt their guests of honor, the Robotech reunion, was a little bit of a misstep for the con as it moved into its new location at the Sheraton Grand Phoenix. I felt after January that Saboten needed to bring a solid lineup of guests after the strong showing of Taiyou Con. Well, here we are and I think Saboten did a nice job of bringing a line up of guests that should appeal to their demographic of attendees.

The headlining guest is world wide sensation Ladybeard. Known for his unique music and cosplay stylings, Ladybeard has quite the following and the local scene has been abuzz about his appearance in Phoenix. Other musical guests that will be at the con include the return of Kazha, Criminal Reserve Corps, and Mika Kobayashi which just SOME of the musical guests.

David Hayter, voice of Solid Snake, from Saboten Con 2015

Nothing is bigger than Pokemon right now and Saboten is bringing Eric Stuart to Phoenix who voiced James of Team Rocket as well as the original Brock. Notable voice actors also attending Saboten inlcude Tara Platt, Yuri Lowenthal, and Carrie Keranen who could be heard as the voice of Lady Satsuki in Kill la Kill.

With Pokemon seeing a surge in popularity, this guy has to come back!

If you’re into cosplay, the con has a nice list of international and domestic cosplay guests and the con itself is a hot spot for cosplay, as many see Saboten Con as the strongest cosplay representation for Arizona.
This is just preview of who Saboten Con is bringing to the valley during Labor Day Weekend (September 2 -5). Even if we don’t get any more guest announcements in the coming days, it’s a nice variety of guests.